


Fell in Love with the Fire Long Ago

by Lil_Redhead



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kisses, Love Letters, Post Season 3, Post Series, Reunions, Simping Gilbert, all the usual suspects - Freeform, anne secret santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:42:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28725288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Redhead/pseuds/Lil_Redhead
Summary: "'Anne!' he whispered. 'What are you doing here?!'Anne only shook her head, tapping the margins of his notebook and handing Gilbert back his pen. But Gilbert needed more than his margins. He needed the whole journal to fill up with his words, his thoughts, his questions."Or: Anne pays Gilbert a surprise visit in Toronto. Love letters ensue.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 23
Kudos: 180





	Fell in Love with the Fire Long Ago

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oboe_she_didnt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oboe_she_didnt/gifts).



> Merry (incredibly belated) Christmas to a lovely friend of mine, Liz! I'm so glad we have gotten to know each other just a little bit better because of awae, even though we've known each other all this time! I hope this delivers on all your fluffy wishes. Much love to you! <33
> 
> Special thanks to Jacksparrow589 for reading this over last minute and generally being a top notch lady. 
> 
> Hope you all like it. (Also the title is from "Would that I" by Hozier because of course it is)

Gilbert could not deny his penchant for chaos. Any snarl that twisted away from the status quo, he wanted to be a part of. Be it traveling the country when he should’ve been in school, climbing into the windows of burning buildings, or falling in love with Anne—Gilbert knew life had a thousand wild adventures to drag him on, and if he didn’t jump onto every single one of them, he’d miss out before he’d even begun. 

But he had to admit, normalcy had its comforts, especially when away from home. The tall halls of his medical lecture rooms provided the unchanging mundanity that kept Gilbert alive when he was a thousand miles away from Avonlea. The space seemed all but locked in time, forever frozen in the hours that made up his Anatomy I class—9AM to 11AM without end, not a second more or less. For his part, Gilbert always sat in the same chair just barely at the central front end of the room where he could be seen should he raise his hand for a question. He kept his leather journal of notes open directly in front of him with his silvercrested fountain pen holding the spine open. The first day of class, he’d purposefully chosen a seat without anyone on either side for fear that their small tics or musings might distract him from his work. Now, though, Gilbert discovered it took a mighty distraction to pull his focus away from Dr. Oak.

So naturally, Gilbert barely noticed when the doors at the back of the lecture hall swung open and clicked closed. _Late comers,_ he thought sourly, before trying to finish the sentence in his notes. _The cartilage between the interphalangeal joints—_

A rhythmic clicking trailed down the stairs of the hall like a fallen marble. It echoed just louder than Dr. Oak’s voice as it neared Gilbert’s quiet section of the room. Gilbert froze as he felt a presence in the aisle to his right. It lingered in his peripheral vision, but he refused to pay the late comer any mind. He was already distracted enough from his work. 

Gilbert tried to pretend like the epitome of focus as the person scooted gracefully through the small space between desks and chair and sat directly at his side. Trying to grasp at any semblance of propriety and politeness that could remain, he pushed his notebook to the side to make room for his new seatmate. But before it could linger too far, a white-gloved hand reached over and delicately grabbed his pen right from his grasp. He froze. Heat flushed his face, equal parts shock, embarrassment, and irritation. 

Then, the young lady gently pulled his notebook to her side of the table. Gilbert listened to the scratch of his own pen as she wrote something small in the margins: _Any dragons around here need slaying?_

Gilbert’s head snapped up and there she was. Every freckle was where he’d left it, flitted about her face like orange spots on a changing leaf. Her cheeks were rosy, as red as her lips that she held between the tips of her teeth. Two small tufts of curled, blissfully red hair fell at her shoulders, bouncing off the curves of her smile. Gilbert’s face must’ve been just the sight she was hoping for, because she barely held back an affectionate smile. 

“ _Anne_!” he whispered. “What are you doing here?!” 

Anne only shook her head, tapping the margins of his notebook and handing Gilbert back his pen. But Gilbert needed more than his margins. He needed the whole journal to fill up with his words, his thoughts, his questions. He flipped to a blank page and scribbled his message as quickly as his hand could write it.

**_You just about knocked the air out of me. What are you doing here?_ **

_What’s life without some pleasant surprises? I missed you._ Gilbert greedily read the words as she placed them on the page. She paused, then added, _This_ _is_ _a pleasant surprise, right?_

Gilbert answered by picking up her free hand and pressing a long kiss to her gloved knuckles. 

**_When did you get here?_ **

_Oh, about thirty minutes ago. I couldn’t wait to see you. Spring on the island seemed so dull without you there. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve interrupted your studies._

Gilbert shook his head. 

**_I think I needed a reminder of myself. You came at the perfect time._ **

Anne’s response came immediately. 

_What’s wrong?_

**_Nothing. At least, I don’t think so._ **

Through the darkness of the windowless room, their eyes found each other. Anne studied Gilbert’s face for any hint that he was holding back the truth, even from himself. He wasn’t sure what she found there, was hoping she’d tell him when she wrote back. 

_You have more to say,_ was all she wrote. Carefully, she placed the pen back into his lap. Gilbert dug his tongue behind his teeth, twiddling the pen between his fingers as he thought. 

**_You always make me remember that I love this world. I don’t get the most out of it without you around._ ** She waited as Gilbert wrestled with his words, pen tip hovering above the page. **_I sometimes forget to look out the window at the sky or at people because I’m so focused on my goals. But what good are goals if you aren’t taking time to care for the world that makes them? Or the people? You remind me to look out and love the world as much as I love you._ **

Anne blinked, a deeper blush finding her face. 

_Really?_

**_Does that even make sense?_ **

_It makes perfect sense to me. I think that’s why I came here. I needed the same reminder._

Gilbert frowned. **_The distance does make this hard._ **

_But it also makes it exciting. Worth fighting for._

**_I agree._ **

_Besides, we’re not so distant right now, are we?_

**_Yet, somehow, still writing love letters._ **

_Something I’ll never complain about. But I do want to talk and spend some time with you. When is your class over?_

**_Eleven._ ** Gilbert pulled out his pocket watch and squinted down at the time. **_Twenty-five minutes left. Do you mind waiting until then?_ **

_Of course not, Dr. Blythe. In fact, you better start paying attention again before you fall behind._ Anne slid the notebook back to its original home in front of him and politely turned her attention to Dr. Oak, who winked at her from the lectern. But Gilbert didn’t think he could go back to phalanges and cartilage yet. Not when he still had one thing to say. He flipped back to their shared page, smiling at the words they’d already written. 

**_If I hadn’t told you lately, I love you, Anne. I’m really glad you came._ **

And because she knew he wanted it written down where he could flip back and reread it over and over, even long after she was back home, she replied, _I love you more_ **_._ **

**_Impossi—_ **

Anne nudged Gilbert’s arm, pointing back up at his teacher. With a grumpy frown, Gilbert turned back a few pages and returned back to his work. _The cartilage between the interphalangeal joints provides flexion toward the palm of the hand…_

It was the longest twenty-five minutes Gilbert could remember. Anne didn’t make it any easier, with her hand on his back where no one could see and her eyes darting on him scribbling notes. She kept her other hand clenched on the table, as if she had gotten the urge to grab the pen once more and add to their written dialogue. Gilbert wished she would, but she was respectful of Dr. Oak’s time for the remaining duration of class. 

But when the time was _finally_ up, he shot up, stuffed his belongings into his bag as quickly as he ever had, and turned to Anne. His hands grabbed hers eagerly as he breathed out blissfully, “Hello.” 

“Hi,” she replied, and the sound of her voice almost sent him back into his chair. 

There was more to say, but not here. Not in the lecture hall with Dr. Oak cleaning up her notes and students filing out toward their next class. One of his classmates gave Anne an appreciative glance as he walked by, causing Gilbert to pull Anne closer and sneer. Then, turning back to her, he rambled, “I-I want to introduce you to Dr. Oak soon. Maybe during her office hours. But, I really want to…” 

He didn’t get to finish. Anne had already read his mind. She tugged his hand, pulling a visibly smitten Gilbert through the hall doors and into the grand hallways. Disappearing into the crowd of the shifting classes, Gilbert took the lead, navigating the corridors with ease and familiarity. The bustle of people eased away as Gilbert drew them further and further into a remote corner of the building. 

Quiet surrounded them like fresh spring air. They hadn’t noticed when it happened, but Gilbert’s hands were resting on her waist, nearly on her back and pulling her forward. Anne, herself, had her fingers buried into his jacket, smiling at the earthy scent of him. Gilbert couldn’t decide what he wanted to do first—kiss her senseless or wrap her arms around his shoulders. 

He chose the former, what with Anne’s lips looking too sweet to wait any longer. He heaved a sigh of relief when he did close his mouth onto hers, relaxing into molten gold as her hands trailed up his chest and around his neck. Every tilted and misfigured thing he’d felt before was mended by her touch. She brought everything she always did—warmth, security, and bravery to make every day the adventure it could be.

When she tugged herself away, her fingers were still lost in his curls. 

“I know you were worried about losing your spirit,” Anne began, a breathy chuckle following behind, “But you’re still there, Gilbert Blythe. No doubt about that.”

**Author's Note:**

> It felt really good to step back into the AWAE world after working so vigilantly on my own work. It was even better to listen to the series' soundtrack while writing it. I hope that this story warms up this dreary January. And, of course, if no one has told you today, you are very loved and important!! <3 Until next time. 
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr (@royalcordelia) or on twitter (@sweetdaisytessa). Drop by and say hi sometime! ♥


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